Did you like the Gucci bags with bamboo handles featured in the September version of this post? Now you can get bamboo heels to match. At A$650 a pair, much less expensive than the bag. Fashion Foie Gras described them as ” rather conservative and definitely have a party going on there from the back.”

The ever-increasing demand for PVC plastic kites is sounding a death knell for the craft of handmade kites in Hyderabad, India, according to the The Hindu.

2,500 bamboo strips dating from 305 BC, unearthed from an illegal tomb excavation in China, were donated to, and restored by, the Tsinghua University in Beijing. 21 of the strips are an elaborate multiplication matrix.

More innovative architecture from Designboom: bamboo sleeping units for an orphanage near the Thai-Burmese border. For more images and details, click on the image.

Still more from Designboom: Tranquillity in the heart of a metropolis. No, it’s not made of bamboo, rather, bamboo provides shade and shadow-play in an otherwise linear building.

More tranquillity (secular). (And more Designboom) What particular architectural elements achieve serenity for this cafe in Vietnam? Water? Bamboo? The curves?

Furniture (or art?)

Photo credit: http://www.designboom.com

This beautiful bamboo chair is named flow. It was created at Scope design studio in Taiwan.I’m glad I don’t have to clean it though. Follow the link to see the more practical set of nesting stools, (not made from bamboo) and more.

Mac accessories

Photo credit: Grovemade.com

I’m almost tempted to ditch Android for Mac just to make use of the range of bamboo accessories available. Two came to my attention this month: a roll-top iPad cover and a wonderfully minimalist docking station for an iPhone. These would go well with Bamboola’s bamboo iPhone cover (or any bamboo iPhone cover).

Art installation

Wang Wen-Chih’s “The Light of Shodoshima”

If you’re lucky enough to get to the Woodford Folk Festival this year, you’ll be able to enter the amphitheatre through a 300 metre woven bamboo tunnel. The tunnel is this years special project. In collaboration with Cave Urban, it will be created by Taiwanese sculptor Wang Wen–Chih and team of volunteers. See more of Wang Wen-Chih’s work here. His installation, The Light of Shodoshima, pictured, is one of the many outdoor installations for this years Setouchi Triennale.

Sustainable outdoor cooking fuel

Bamboo charcoal for your barbecue? A start-up in the US is nearly ready to tap into the more than 80 percent of US households that own a barbecue grill. Hot Bambu is one of many Kickstarter projects. Have a look at the table below to see why you should be using bamboo charcoal.